Ropes & Gray Reviews

Pros

Legal training is excellent, as are staff, mentors, and opportunities to advance up to mid-level and possibly higher. There are also very hard-working colleagues and many junior associates who are in the same boat. There is a strong support network from the other junior associates, plus, senior associates and partners have a good idea of what to expect from junior associates.

Cons

The work is sometimes too fast-paced, which means that the quality can suffer. Also, there is not enough training in management, marketing, and the business side of running a law firm.

Advice to Senior Management

It would be helpful to build a stronger sense of community and teamwork. Support staff often feel unappreciated, which reflects on their work.

Pros

great contacts in the legal field

Cons

law school students who are not from the Ivies may not stand a chance of being hired. Prestige is very important.

Advice to Senior Management

I don't know.

Pros

Nice colleagues, flexibility to work from home, no one's looking over your shoulder to monitor you constantly. Not a market leader in comp but matches peers.

Cons

Sometimes unclear how well you're doing compared to your peers; working hours can be uneven over the year (but that's symptomatic of big firms); reductions in perks; increase in time spent working on client bills.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer more alternatives to partnership track in a more open and established manner, rather than on a case by case basis where the terms of the alternative (compensation, billing expectations) are not transparent.

Pros

I would probably a few Pro's of working here was the co-workers. We had a fun time in the department and were always there to answer any questions. The other thing I would have to say would be the pay was excellent.

Cons

From the interview I was told it was a Helpdesk Support role yet most of the calls that came into the desk were administrative type stuff. I need my document in Ropes and Gray's headers and footers. Wasn't a good fit

Advice to Senior Management

Just be more cognoscente of what you explain to prospective employees during interviews. Don't make the job out to be something its not.

Pros

wonderful staff and attorneys. they hire the brightest of the bright.

Cons

Terrible senior leadership team with no end in sight of their reigns of power. They treat people poorly when the people who work here are amazingly smart and hard working, who deserve to be treated with total respect. It appears that the SLT team members lack confidence and enjoy being mean to people to feel powerful.

Advice to Senior Management

I would suggest that the Senior Leadership's patterns of retention and successes, amongst the teams which they have led, be closely researched and analyzed by your Strategy team. You are losing exceptional people on a daily basis because of the poor leadership at the C level.

Pros

Benefits are decent. Good retirement package.
Exercise facilities on-site
Chance to connect personally with long-time employees.
Communication about review process "getting better"

Cons

Always wondering if you are going to make it to retirement.
Assigned too many senseless "projects"
Long-time employees, associates and partners being forced out.
Review process is based on firm bottom line

Advice to Senior Management

Swallow the pride; go ahead and do the 2nd round of layoffs instead of the one-offs.
Stop forcing managers to "find" reasons to down-rate people
Reward those who deserve it

Pros

prestigious. people are smart and capable. salary is competitive.

Cons

long hours, arrogant attitude, and poor leadership.

Pros

So nice working here. Great intellectual atmosphere. Great pay.

Cons

Snobby. It is a competitive environment which can be good but can go overboard.

Advice to Senior Management

Management is great. Very experienced and know what they are doing

Pros

Compensation, benefits, colleagues, office space, childcare

Cons

Leadership team, highly political atmosphere

Pros

The work is usually high-quality for important clients, but you have the flexibility to do work on matters large and small; the people, particularly partners, are very respectful.

Cons

As with all large law firms, you're stuck billing time by the hour, which is the worst part of being an attorney.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep doing what you're doing; Ropes & Gray is a firm on the ascent and the quality of the people and the work is getting better and better.